As death of great men, alterations,
Diseases, battles, inundations:

All this without th' eclipfe of th' fun,
Or dreadful comet, he hath done
By inward light, a way as good,
And easy to be understood:

But with more lucky hit than those

That use to make the stars depose,

Like Knights o' th' Poft, and falfely charge
Upon themselves what others forge;

As if they were consenting to

All mischiefs in the world men do:

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580

585

meet with the following inftance in the prayers of Mr. George Swathe, minister of Denham in Suffolk: "O my good Lord "God, I praife thee for difcovering the last week, in the day"time, a vifion, that there were two great armies about York, "one of the malignant party about the King, the other party "Parliament and profeffors; and the better fide fhould have

help from Heaven against the worft; about, or at which "inftant of time, we heard the foldiers at York had raised up << a fconce against Hull, intending to plant fifteen pieces against "Hull; against which fort Sir John Hotham, Keeper of Hull, "by a garrifon, discharged four great ordnance, and broke down "their sconce, and killed divers Cavaliers in it.-Lord, I praife

thee for difcovering this victory, at the instant of time that it "was done, to my wife, which did then prefently confirm her "drooping heart, which the laft week had been dejected three

66

or four days, and no arguments could comfort her against the "dangerous times approaching; but when he had prayed to be "established in faith in thee, then prefently thou didst, by this "vifion, ftrongly poffefs her foul that thine and our enemies fhould be overcome."

Or, like the devil, did tempt and sway 'em
To rogueries, and then betray 'em,

They 'll search a planet's house, to know
Who broke and robb'd a houfe below;
Examine Venus, and the Moon,
Who ftole a thimble or a spoon;
And though they nothing will confefs,
Yet by their very looks can guefs,
And tell what guilty afpect bodes,
Who ftole, and who receiv'd the goods:
They 'll queftion Mars, and by his look,
Detect who 'twas that nimm'd a cloke;

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595

Make Mercury confefs, and 'peach

Those thieves which he himself did teach.

60.0

They 'll find, i' th' phyfiognomies

O' th' planets, all men's deftinies;

Like him that took the doctor's bill,
And swallow'd it instead o' th' pill,
Caft the nativity o' th' queftion,
And from pofitions to be guest on,

As fure as if they knew the moment

605

Of Native's birth, tell what will come on't.
They 'll feel the pulfes of the ftars,
To find out agues, coughs, catarrhs,
And tell what crifis does divine

610

The rot in sheep, or mange in fwine;

In men,

what gives or cures the itch,

What makes them cuckolds, poor or rich 3

What gains or lofes, hangs or faves ;

What makes men great, what fools or knaves :

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But

But not what wife, for only' of those

The stars (they fay) cannot dispose,
No more than can the aftrologians :

There they say right, and like true Trojans.
This Ralpho knew, and therefore took
The other course, of which we spoke.
Thus was th' accomplish'd Squire endued

620

With gifts and knowledge perilous fhrewd :

Never did trusty squire with knight,

625

Or knight with fquire, e'er jump more right.

For they a fad adventure met,

Of which anon we mean to treat :
-But ere we venture to unfold
Atchievements fo refolv'd and bold,
We should, as learned poets use,
Invoke th' affiftance of some Muse;
However critics count it fillier
Than jugglers talking to familiar;
We think 'tis no great matter which,
They 're all alike, yet we shall pitch
On one that fits our purpose moft,

Whom therefore thus do we accost.

Thou that with ale, or viler liquors, Didft infpire Withers, Pryn, and Vickars,

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640

645

And

And force them, though it was in spite

Of Nature, and their stars, to write;

Who (as we find in fullen writs,

And cross-grain'd works of modern wits)

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With vanity, opinion, want,

The wonder of the ignorant,

The praises of the author, penn'd
B' himself, or wit-infuring friend;
The itch of picture in the front,
With bays and wicked rhyme upon 't,

655

All that is left o' th' Forked hill

To make men fcribble without skill;
Canft make a Poet spite of Fate,
And teach all people to tranflate,
Though out of languages in which
They understand no part of speech;
Affift me but this once, I' mplore
And I fhall trouble thee no more.

In western clime there is a town,

To thofe that dwell therein well known,

Therefore there needs no more be faid here,

We unto them refer our reader;

660

665

Ver. 665.] Brentford, which is eight miles west from London, is here probably meant, as may be gathered from Part II. Cant. iii. Ver. 995, &c. where he tells the Knight what befel him there:

And though you overcame the Bear,
The dogs beat you at Brentford fair,
Where sturdy butchers broke your noddle.

VOL, XIII.

D

For

For brevity is very good,

When w' are, or are not understood..
To this town people did repair

670

way of recreating,

Which learned butchers call Bear-baiting;

A bold adventurous exercise,

With ancient heroes in high prize;

For authors do affirm it came

From Ifthmian or Nemæan game;

Others derive it from the Bear
That's fix'd in northern hemifphere,

And round about the pole does make
A circle, like a bear at ftake,

That at the chain's end wheels about,

And overturns the rabble-rout :

For after folemn proclamation

In the bear's name (as is the fashion

As

Ver. 678.] This game is ufhered into the Poem with more folemnity than thofe celebrated ones in Homer and Virgil. the Poem is only adorned with this game, and the Riding Skimmington, so it was incumbent on the Poet to be very particular and full in the defcription: and may we not venture to affirm, they are exactly suitable to the nature of these adventures, and, confequently, to a Briton, preferable to thofe in Homer or Virgil ? Ver. 689, 690.] Alluding to the bull-running at Tutbury in

Stafford